Out Of It To Win It
by Nuclear Phantom
Summary: What was Vanellope doing before she met Ralph? Why was she in the Candy Cane Forest? Oneshot.


_'Sup, this is my first fanfic in like, four years, so I hope it's at least okayish. The story begins around the time Ralph was at the anniversary party._

**_XXX_**

Finally. After weeks of hard work and dedication, her masterpiece was ready to hit the track. Vanellope admired her makeshift kart, pieced together from the remains of karts she'd found in the junkyard, and twirled the pedals to make sure they worked. She picked up a shred of wrapper, which had the words 'Likkity-Split' written on it, and stuck it to the sides. This done, she smiled and patted the kart lovingly on its hood. "When I take you down there, they're gonna have no choice but to let me race. After all, they can't say no when I have my own kart, can they?"

She could just imagine the looks on their faces, especially Taffyta and King Candy. For years they'd told her she'd never race, that she'd never have a kart of her own, but now she _did_, and while it didn't have a real engine, to her, it was real enough. She was going to take it down there, she was going to enter, and then she'd finally be a real racer like she'd always dreamed, and she wouldn't be lonely anymore...

Well, she'd missed that day's Roster Race, but there was always the next day's. Now, all she needed to do was take it for test drive. She'd kept it hidden in a small cave close to the Roster Race track; one of her many hiding places, because she'd learned quick she could never be too careful. She started to push the kart out of the cave, when she hit a rock, heard a loud _crack_, and looked down to find a wheel was now chipped so badly there was no way it would turn. Ugh, how had she managed that? She'd have to go to the junkyard and get a replacement.

Vanellope checked to make sure the coast was clear, then set off in the direction of the junkyard. She was almost there when she saw trouble. Karts. Other racers. She tried to lay low, but wasn't quick enough.

"Hey, it's the glitch!"

"Let's get her!"

Vanellope sprinted towards the junkyard. She threw herself into the nearest pile, burying herself among the discarded parts. She thought she heard engine noise, but then she saw the perfect new wheel lying in the wreckage, and all her thoughts turned to that. She grabbed it and pulled as hard as she could. The wheel came loose and sent her flying out of the pile and into the open. She lay on the ground, clutching the wheel in her hands.

"Well, well. We found you, glitch."

Vanellope knew that voice. Taffyta Muttonfudge. She stood up, finding herself surrounded by Taffyta, Candlehead, Rancis, Adorabeezle, Minty and Jubileena. Great. Just great. This was going to end badly, she knew it. Unless she could make a joke to diffuse the situation, but Taffyta spoke before she could think of something witty to say.

"What're you doing with that wheel, glitch?" She must've won the Roster Race, because she sounded even more smug than usual. "You get a kick out of collecting broken, unfinished things? Suits you."

The other racers laughed at her cruel joke. Vanellope was determined to keep a brave face, even if her words stung like a punch to the gut, so she kept her head high and tried to act like what Taffyta said didn't affect her.

"Nah, the old one broke, so I needed to get a replacement," she said, complete with a casual wave of her hand. "Gotta keep my kart in top shape for when I enter the race, you know?"

That shut them up.

"_You_ have a kart?" Taffyta said, genuinely shocked.

Vanellope puffed up with pride. The Likkity-Split might've been pedal-powered, and it might've been made from junk, but at that moment, she had never been more proud of it.

"Yeah, I do, and it's the biggest, baddest, bestest kart that's ever been built! I'm gonna take it to the Roster Race and be a real racer, just like you guys!"

She'd hoped to impress them, and it looked like she had. Minty's eyes widened and Jubileena whispered something to a stunned-looking Rancis, who shook his head. Taffyta was never one to be undermined, especially by Vanellope, so she flicked her lollipop at her. Vanellope flinched as it hit her on the nose.

"You think it's that simple?" Taffyta demanded, no longer sounding smug, but irritated. "You think you can just push your kart to starting line and that's it, you've joined the race?"

That was exactly what Vanellope had thought.

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't it be that simple?" she asked, shrugging. "That's what _you_ do, isn't it?"

Taffyta's smugness was back with a vengeance. Vanellope noticed the other racers weren't looking impressed anymore, either.

"No, Vanellope, not exactly," Taffyta said. "I guess you've never gotten close enough to find out, huh? In order to get into the roster, you have to get your name on the board. You can't get your name on the board without one of _these_." She reached into her jacket and came out with something Vanellope had never seen before – a shiny gold coin. "Without a Gold Coin, you won't be able to pay the entrance fee. So, yeah. You're still not a racer. Not that you'd be allowed to race even if you could."

There was a fee? Vanellope's heart plummeted. She was so close...she had a kart now! She couldn't back out because of something as simple as a _Gold Coin!_

"How do I get one of those?" she asked.

"By winning a race," Taffyta replied, smirking as she slid the coin back into her jacket. "Which you'll never do, because you're a _glitch. _And, as we all know, glitches can't be racers!"

Vanellope's fists clenched. She knew what would happen if she stood up to Taffyta – they'd left her tied to a tree, the last time – but she hated being called a glitch. You can't do this, because you're a glitch. Don't go there, because you're a glitch. We have to lock you up, because you're glitch. No one likes you, because you're a glitch. She 'd prove them wrong, entrance fee or no. She wasn't a glitch. She _could _race, and if they gave her a chance, she'd prove it!

The racers gasped as Vanellope stepped forward and pointed a finger straight at Taffyta.

"I'll show you, Taffyta. I'll show all of you! I'm gonna get a Gold Coin – the shiniest Gold Coin ever – and then I'm gonna enter the race, and then I'm gonna win!"

Taffyta started towards Vanellope, giving her a look that told her she'd gone too far. Vanellope backed off, knowing all too well what was coming, but she was saved by a voice from the distant, crackly tannoy system.

"_Attention, racers of _Sugar Rush_! This is your esteemed leader speaking. The arcade will open in ten minutes, so I expect you all to have taken your places! Hoohoo!"_

Taffyta frowned, turned away from Vanellope and walked back to her kart. She deliberately drove past Vanellope so that her wheels kicked chocolate into her face. The other racers copied her, so that by the time they left, Vanellope was covered head-to-toe in chocolate mud. She spluttered and fell over, then got up, wiped the mud from her face and started running. She ran back to her cave, fitted the new wheel, then ran until her eyes stopped leaking and her legs gave out.

She collapsed in the middle of the Candy Cane Forest. She sat there for a while, picking the chocolate out of her hair and clothes, then stood up, grabbed a nearby sprinkle and threw it. It wasn't fair! How was she supposed to race if she couldn't enter? How was she supposed to enter if she couldn't win a race? She bet it was all King Candy's idea. It was just like him to invent some kind of 'Gold Coin' and crazy rules that meant she'd never get hold of one. Unless she could _find_ one – but where to look? It wasn't like Taffyta or the others would just leave them lying around.

Maybe...maybe someone had dropped one in the forest! It was part of a track, after all, and she'd heard the racers talk about how difficult it was, with its laffy-taffies that would ensnare karts and double-stripe branches that would break if they drove over them. They could've easily lost a coin in the chaos. Her face lit up, and she set off to find a Gold Coin.

She ended up spending the day in the Candy Cane Forest, searching high and low, with no luck. The laffy-taffies left her alone, since they were attracted to two things, engine noise and slapstick. She retreated into the depths when she heard the karts coming, and climbed the tallest tree to watch them race, giggling when Taffyta got hit with a Sweet Seeker. The karts soon left, headed off to some other track, and Vanellope vowed that she would be there at the Roster Race later, so the next day, she could join them.

Unfortunately, she looked everywhere, and there wasn't even a trace of a Gold Coin. She sat on a branch and thought about what other tracks were hectic enough to make people drop them. She was still thinking, when she noticed something in the sky; a sleek black spaceship, which looked completely out-of-place in the sugary world. "Cool..."

It wasn't so cool when it nosedived, hitting the ground with incredible speed. Vanellope leapt off her tree a second before it was demolished. The spaceship kept going, tearing a gash through the forest and only stopping when it reached a cliff. Vanellope darted after it, but it was so fast, by the time she caught up, she was out-of-breath. The spaceship lay in ruins, and the pilot...

The pilot was halfway up a tree, and definitely not what Vanellope expected. He was a giant! The giant suddenly climbed down the tree and ran into the forest. Vanellope followed him, sticking to the shadows so he wouldn't see her, but his attention appeared to be on something else. He stopped in front of a tall tree and started to climb it. Vanellope climbed after him. She stopped on a lower branch.

"Hey mister!"

He cried out and dropped several branches to her level.

"Hello!"

It wasn't a Gold Coin, but she'd certainly found _something_ worth investigating in the Candy Cane Forest.

_**XXX**_

_RARGH I FINALLY PUBLISHED SOMETHING_

_Yeah this probably doesn't mean a lot to you but holy cow I've been trying to write something and finish for ages, and now I finally did it! Also it's my first time writing about Vanellope, so I hope I got her right. I apologise to anyone who likes Taffyta because she's pretty much a straight-up beeotch here, but I promise you if I write anything for Sugar Rush post-movie (or even pre-movie) she'll be a lot nicer, since I imagine she's nice to people she likes. She just doesn't like glitches. Ha. Blame King Candy, it's his influence (and code-hackery. Possibly)._

_NP out!  
_


End file.
